Laura Jones

Feeling a bit parched Wednesdayites? Can you see that takeover mirage in front of you? Will a Thai based consortium quench your thirst?

Wednesday started off meandering through the Premier League wilderness with Dave Richards. One day we woke up and realised we were lost, unprepared and damaged.

We jogged towards Dave Allen’s casino shaped oasis as he offered us business cohesion and a defined path. The problem was we were still in the desert, chased by the taxman and Allen was charging us for every sip of water we took. It’s hardly surprising that we ran through the arid Allen land as Ken Bates watched us on the horizon.

Exhausted we ran into the arms of Lee Strafford. It felt like the first time in a decade that Sheffield Wednesday were refreshed. A wealthy Wednesdayite running the club who wanted what we wanted. Strafford’s oasis was charitable and motivational but yet we were still on shifting sands getting blown backwards into League One and towards financial ruin.

Like Lawrence of Arabia, Milan Mandaric appeared in the sunset. He promised he would do his best to get us to the next step but not necessarily much further. We accepted the lift and made it just a little further forward.

The Mammadov takeover was the biggest mirage of all. Although you could see it in the distance and it felt tangible enough to touch, the money was imaginary and he evaporated into thin air.

This time a lot of Wednesday fans have sat down in the heat, completely dehydrated, and said ‘I’m not going any further until we know where we’re going.’ Whether it’s Thai, Chinese or US entrepreneurs that try to whet our appetites, we’re not trekking anymore until there’s money on the table.